Digicel PNG to begin subscriber registration on July 1

In an email to The National, the Irish telecommunications company confirmed the exercise saying:

“Digicel PNG will commence their Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) registration process from July 1 across Papua New Guinea.”

The move is a proactive approach to the government’s intention to pass legislation to have subscribers registered after blatant abuse including the committing of crimes like the BSP robberies by the infamous William Kapis Nanua and bomb threats to the Finance department.

Subscriber registration will also be beneficial for statistical purposes and will give a more accurate perspective on the number of users a network has. It will also allow NICTA to implement the cybercrime policy once it has been approved by cabinet.

Digicel PNG’s registration process will see subscribers filling in their basic information as well as a picture and photograph taken.

Meanwhile public awareness needs to be carried out prior to the exercise to avoid confusion and public hysteria which happened with the Education department’s biodata exercise recently.